The on-field umpires for the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have started conducting random checks of the bats that are being used during the IPL games.
As part of these random checks, the bat size of Rajasthan Royals’ Shimron Hetmyer, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Phil Salt and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s were measured with a bat gauge during the course of the match.
The gauge used by the umpires to conduct these random bat checks in 2.68 inches in depth, 4.33 inches wide and have edges which are 1.61 inches long.
The bat size of Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunill Narine and Anrich Nortje were also checked during their match against Punjab Kings. The KKR duo were then asked to change their bats.
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“The umpires keep a house-shaped bat gauge. If the bat passes through that gauge, it is deemed acceptable. We have all performed bat checks before the start of the innings inside the dressing room. The players handover their willows and the check is done,” a former umpire has told news agency Press Trust of India.
So what are the laws on bat size?
Law 5 of laws of cricket as codified by the Marylebone Cricket Club deals everything related to bats. Law 5.7 deals with the bat size limits.
According to this law, the overall length of the bat, when the lower portion of the handle is inserted, shall not be more than 38 inches or 96.52 centi meters. Further it states the blade of the bat shall not exceed the following dimensions: width: 4.25inches or 10.8 centi meters, depth: 2.64inches or 6.7 centi meters and edges: 1.56 inches or 4.0 centi meters.
On these random on-field checks, Varun Aaron, the former India fast bowler while doing commentary for the Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals , remarked, “Whatever you can squeeze out of your bat!” These random are being conducted to ensure that the batters don’t use oversized or heavier bats which enable them to send the ball to the boundary with less effort.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
